ANO Unit 2 returns to serviceArkansas Nuclear One's Unit 2 was reconnected to the electrical grid recently after a refueling outage that positioned the plant for safe, reliable operations and injected hundreds of contract workers into the local economy. Operators successfully marked the end of the unit's 25th refueling and maintenance outage. An ANO spokesperson said Unit 2 shuts down every 18 months to refuel the reactor and perform maintenance and modification work that...

A&P plans to open downtown tourism officeThe Russellville Advertising & Promotion Commission voted during its regular meeting Thursday to move out of the Chamber of Commerce and into a building on South Commerce Avenue. Commissioners considered two options, the office space they looked at last month on South Commerce which is across the street from Arvest Bank and Russellville City Hall. They also considered property next to the Depot Park. The commission voted to lease the South Com...

Aldermen talk committee, sidewalks, speedingA day before the ribbon cutting for the $3 million O Street renovation project was conducted, the Russellville City Council talked about a new committee that would include sidewalks and speeding concerns during their regular meeting Thursday at City Hall. After Alderman Mark Tripp asked Mayor Randy Horton what the Infrastructure and Transportation Committee would entail and what would its members would be tasked to do, the mayor said he liked ...

Sanders steps into role as new face of White HouseWASHINGTON — New White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was schooled in hardscrabble politics — and down-home rhetoric — from a young age by her father, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Her way with a zinger — and her unshakable loyalty to an often unpredictable boss — are big reasons why she became a rising star in President Donald Trump's orbit. She'll take over for Sean Spicer, who abruptly announced Friday that he's resignin...

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By JONATHAN LEMIRE and CATHERINE LUCEY, Associated PressAssociated Press

Spicer abruptly resigns as Trump press secretaryWASHINGTON — White House press secretary Sean Spicer abruptly resigned his position Friday, ending a rocky six-month tenure that made his news briefings defending President Donald Trump must-see TV. He said Trump's White House "could benefit from a clean slate." Spicer quit in protest over the hiring of a new White House communications director, New York financier Anthony Scaramucci, objecting to what Spicer considered his lack of qualificatio...

Board discusses mowing problemsThe Oakland Cemetery Commission heard from Director Stephanie Warwick during its monthly meeting Tuesday that the cemetery was "back in beautiful form" after mowing was completed. However, Warwick reported she had received calls concerning the movement of headstones and markers by lawnmowers. One headstone was moved during a recent mowing, and there was a possibility it could have been knocked over and broken. "We cannot have them damaging hea...

ADEQ, City Corp. to meet in AugustThe general manager of City Corporation told the utility's Board of Directors that staff will meet with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) on Aug. 3 to start talking about possible changes to the current Consent Administrative Order (CAO). Steve Mallett explained they were not sure the ADEQ would go in that direction, but they were preparing for such action. "I sent an email to Alan Anderson outlining the steps we have tak...

Third, final reading of PUD order tonightThe Russellville will read for the third and final time, then vote on an ordinance that will rezone property on Marina Road at Jennifer Lane from residential (R-1) to planned unit development (PUD) during its July meeting at 6 p.m. today in City Hall. The Finance Committee will meet at 5:30. Voters on May 9 repealed an ordinance that rezoned property on Marina Way from R-1 to PUD and would have allowed construction of an assisted living facili...

City, ATU property deal on holdRussellville Mayor Randy Horton told the City Council during last week's Finance Committee meeting that a second environmental test has to be conducted on property owned by the city on North El Paso Avenue that Arkansas Tech University (ATU) is interested in buying. The council voted to split the cost with ATU to conduct the environmental test. Aldermen voted during their regular meeting to negotiate the sales price of property located on Nort...

APNewsBreak: US restoring asset seizures with safeguardsWASHINGTON— The Trump administration will soon restore the ability of police to seize suspects' money and property with federal help, but The Associated Press has learned the policy will come with a series of new provisions aimed at preventing the types of abuse that led the Obama Justice Department to severely curtail the practice. At issue is asset forfeiture, which has been criticized because it allows law enforcement to take possessions wi...

House budget blueprint boosts military, cuts food stampsWASHINGTON— House Republicans on Tuesday unveiled a budget that makes deep cuts in food stamps and other social safety net programs while boosting military spending by billions, a blueprint that pleases neither conservatives nor moderates. The GOP plan, authored by Budget Chairman Diane Black, R-Tenn., is critical to GOP hopes to deliver on one of President Donald Trump's top priorities — a Republican-only effort to overhaul the tax code. Uncl...

Ward trials postponed until 2018DANVILLE -- The prosecuting attorney for the 15th Judicial District said separate trials for the former Yell County EMS director and secretary have been rescheduled for next year. Tom Tatum II said Special Circuit Judge Brad Karren, Division II judge for the 19th Circuit West, called his office and defense attorneys W.H. Taylor and John Everett and said there was too much discovery evidence to go through to have one trial for Donna Ward and Si...

Commission tells director to pursue grant for ShilohThe Russellville Recreation and Parks Commission approved a recommendation from director Mack Hollis for him to apply for a matching grant to start the renovation of ball fields at Shiloh Park. Hollis told commissioners the upper field needed new lighting and hadn't been done in "decades." He said if the grant was awarded, the cost to the department would be about $95,000. He pointed out that the bathroom renovation couldn't be done through th...

Health plan hinges on the young, but they're a tough sellWASHINGTON — Julian Senn-Raemont isn't convinced he needs to buy health insurance when he loses coverage under his dad's plan in a couple of years — no matter what happens in the policy debate in Washington, or how cheap the plans are. The 24-year-old musician hasn't known a world without a health care safety net. But he hates being forced by law to get coverage, and doesn't think he needs it. "I'm playing the odds," said Senn-Raemont, who liv...

Slow down!With the recent opening of State Highway 124 as a five-lane highway, Pope County Sheriff Shane Jones reminded motorists that the posted speed limit on the state road is 55 mph. "We haven't seen any citations written, but we have received complaints of drivers doing at least 70 mph," he said Thursday. "Highway 124 is a wonderful new road for our citizens and will make the commute to and from town much better. I understand everybody wants to go ...

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BY SEAN INGRAMsean@couriernews.comThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Russellville Mayor Randy Horton: This is not a new tax"As of today, we do not have the money to open the Russellville Aquatic Center on January 1, 2018," Finance Director Jerry McKaughan told the City Council during its Finance Committee meeting last week. Earlier this year, it was estimated it would cost $400,000 to operate the Aquatic Center. Entry-level salaries for police officers and firefighters have not gone up in years. Both Police Chief Jeff Humphrey and Fire Chief Kirk Slone have discus...

Grease is a beast that can be containedCity Corporation, the water and wastewater utility for Russellville, needs your help to eliminate grease in the city's sewer lines. Why? In the long run, it will build up in your pipes and can completely clog them up, which will cause them to overflow. Clogged pipes can also send untreated sewage into local waterways. Bottom line: The damage to the environment and pipes can increase sewer rates and repair costs. Lance Bartlett, chief engineeri...

Barriers placed around collapsed building in downtown RussellvilleCity officials said fastened concrete barriers were placed around a building on North Commerce Avenue that collapsed after inclement weather last month. Community Development Director Brian Holstein and Mayor Randy Horton said Luke Duffield provided the concrete barrier blocks, which were installed Thursday by Mobley Construction. They are the type of concrete blocks that can be fastened and stacked fairly high. Building owners Jimmy and Amand...

City to look at convention center contractThe Russellville City Council's Finance Committee recommended Tuesday that the full council consider changing the proposed convention center original master developer contract a second time when it convenes July 20. During the council's January meeting, developer David Hunt of Hunt Services Inc. was granted an extension in the contract. A mandatory start day of July 1 and completion date of no later than Dec. 31, 2018, was added to the contrac...

Court OKs online sales tax resolutionThe Pope County Quorum Court unanimously approved a resolution during its monthly meeting that supported federal and state legislation to ensure the proper assessment and collection of sales tax from all internet or online sales. The Russellville City Council voted unanimously on a similar resolution during its June 13 meeting. The resolution stated the county recognized that legislation frequently referred to as the Marketplace Fairness Act o...